The Waterfalls Essay, Research Paper

The Waterfalls

Visiting a waterfall, especially on a hot sultry day, can be a favorite

way to spend a day. You get in your car, drive for miles, then get out

and walk the remainder of the way to a waterfall. Civilization has

cleared and marked a pathway for you and the many thousands like

you that have also come to enjoy these named landmarks. Rarely do

you get to enjoy the natural beauty of one by just stepping out into

your own backyard.

Behind my house, barely noticeable, is a trail leading through the

woods to a waterfall. The trail is narrow but well worn. Any shrubbery

that would have grown has been trampled down and all that is left is

a very narrow path, overhung with branches from the trees that mark

its sides. As I start down the trail, I begin to feel the trees closing

around me until the house can no longer be seen. I follow the trail to

where it stops at the creek?s edge, approaching quietly so as not to

disturb any of the wild creatures that has come to enjoy the cool

fresh water.

I gently cross over the creek using the stones, which show the wear

of several previous crossing, so that I can have full view of the creek

and the beauty it possesses. I can hear the rush of the water long

before I see the falls. As I sit down on the big gray slate rock that

has been warmed by the early morning sun, I begin to gulp in the

beauty as a starving man would gulp down food. I start my usual

ritual of examining the banks of the creek by gazing down the right

side of it first. I notice that the wild azaleas are in full bloom and that

the trees have regained all their leaves. They stand tall and majestic

as if they are soldiers standing guard. My gaze travels up one of the

trees to find two squirrels chattering down at me as if to say ?Go

away and leave us in peace.? Further down starts the gentle bend

that takes the remainder of the creek from my view.

My gaze shifts to the left side of the bank and there lies an old oak

tree that has fallen long ago. It still lies partially upon its stump so

that it looks like the shape of an ?L?. Two ducks are using it for a

resting perch. I continue my perusal up the bank to the dogwood

trees. Their beauty is awesome. Their branches, filled with ivory

white blossoms, stretch across the creek as if trying to touch the

other side. They remind me of an archway, waiting for someone to

walk beneath them. Standing alongside the bank is a beautiful doe

with her newborn fawn. She flicks her ears and raises her nose to the

air as if to catch my scent. I do not move hoping that she will stay

just a bit longer. After she dashes away, my eyes continue their

assault of the banks. Slowly it comes into focus, the thing that has

drawn me here day after day. The waterfall!

As I gaze at it, I can feel the coolness and the power of the water as

it rushes over the rocks and into the pool ten feet below. I lay back

on my rock and see that the trees have opened their leaves to allow

me a view of the sky. The sky is an azure blue with white pillowy

clouds.

I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the waterfall and let it lure

me into that nowhere land that makes me feel as if I totally alone,

the lone survivor on this planet. My mind goes oblivious to everything

except for the rushing sound of the water. Slowly other sounds begin

to filter through. I hear the birds singing, the squirrels still chattering

away as I continue to lie there totally at peace with myself.

It seems as if only seconds have passed but I know that it must be

hours because I can no longer feel the warmth of the sun. Slowly I

rise, knowing that I must start heading back to the house. I take one

last long look and I begin to wonder, as I have so many times before,

will it be here when I come back again? Will the wild animals allow me

to share the waterfall, the creek and the beauty of it all again with

them? I certainly hope so because I can think of no other place I

would love to visit so frequently than the waterfall that is a part of

my own backyard.